Biography
Irish international midfielder David Meyler joined Hull City in November 2012 on loan as manager Steve Bruce tapped his former side Sunderland for talent as he built a squad ready to launch a Championship promotion bid during the 2012/13 season. Meyler was eased into the first team via the substitute’s bench but within three weeks was handed a first team start, a shirt he retained for the rest of the season. He scored his first goal for the Tigers against Watford in December 2012 and added four more goals in the second half of the season after his transfer was made permanent in January 2013, helping the Tigers win automatic promotion back to the Premier League.
Meyler was part of the City starting eleven for most of the 2013/14 season, scoring vital league goals against Liverpool and Manchester United. Meyler’s knack of being prominent in City finest performances continued in the second half of the season as the Tigers kept themselves out of the relegation mire and swept through the early rounds of the FA Cup to reach the quarter finals. David contributed goals in the Sixth Round tie against former club Sunderland and the Wembley semi-final against Sheffield United before striding onto the Wembley turf again for the May 2014 FA Cup Final against Arsenal. While this match ended in narrow defeat, it capped a fine first full season for Meyler.
After playing in three of City’s four Europa League ties at the start of the 2014/15 season, Meyler was absent for two months before coming back into the first team picture in late November 2014. He scored a February 2015 opener away at Manchester City that nearly secured an unlikely three points, a late James Milner equaliser ensured the spoils were shared, but as the season wore on City’s form collapsed and the club was relegated back to the Championship. David was part of the first team squad that secured an immediate promotion back to the Premier League via a May 2016 Wembley play-off victory over Sheffield Wednesday, coming one for the last five minutes as Bruce’s side snuffed out any signs of attacking threat from the Owls.
Back in the Premier League but shorn of manager Steve Bruce, Meyler began the 2016/17 season as a first team starter but drifted out of Mike Phelan’s side from October 2016 as the side slumped to the foot of the table. Meyler was also deployed irregularly by replacement manager Marco Silva during the second half of the season as City came within a whisker of avoiding immediate relegation back to the Championship. He remained with the Tigers for the 2017/18 season as Leonid Slutsky the Nigel Adkins struggled to halt a slide further down the league pyramid, and it was David’s April 2018 goals against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burton Albion that did much to avoid a second successive relegation. With injuries now hampering his game time, Meyler left the Tigers in June 2018 as one of the club’s longest serving players at the time and a figure that was often associated with some of the Tigers greatest days and nights of the 2010s.
David Meyler was born in the Ireland’s second city Cork and was a sporting polymath as a young man, excelling at both football and hurling – his father was a prominent hurler at county level. Meyler chose to pursue a career in football and came through the ranks at Cork City, signing his first professional contract in July 2007. He made his senior debut for Cork in June 2008 against Limerick and had made just 4 senior appearances for the Rebel Army when English Division One side Sunderland paid £200,000 for his services at the end of July 2008.
Meyler was an unused substitute in a November 2008 Premier League match against Chelsea but had to wait until December 2009 for his Premier League debut against Blackburn Rovers. By March 2010 Meyler was a regular starter in the Sunderland midfield but missed the opening months of the 2010/11 season with a knee injury and was a fringe player in Steve Bruce’s Black Cats squad for the rest of the season. This supporting role continued during the next two seasons and by November 2012, when he moved to Hull City, Meyler had made 31 senior appearances for Sunderland in four and a bit seasons.
In June 2018, after his release from Hull City, Meyler joined Championship rivals Reading on a two year deal. But his time at the Royals did not begin well and in January 2019 he was loaned to League One side Coventry City before being released by Reading in June 2019 – he made 5 appearances for Reading and another 5 appearances for Coventry City. A few months later he announced his retirement due to persistent knee injuries.
After ending his playing days Meyler took his coaching badges and opened a football coaching school in the Hull area while also assisting the academy at Hull City. In July 2024 he was appointed assistant manager for Hull City’s Under-18 side. After a successful season Meyler left the Tigers in May 2025, joining struggling League of Ireland Premier Division side Cork City as assistant manager. Meyler was unable to avert relegation that the club faced when he arrived and retained his assistant role as Cork City started the 2026 season in fine form at the summit of the League of Ireland First Division.
Meyler was an established part of Ireland’s under-age teams during the early part of his career at Sunderland. In September 2008 he made two appearances for Ireland’s Under-19 side but a few weeks later he was fast-tracked to the Under-21 squad, making his October 2008 debut against Germany – in March 2010 he made the last of his 5 appearances at Under-21 level. In September 2012 Meyler made his debut for the Ireland senior side against Oman but it wasn’t until his fifth cap against Serbia in March 2014 that he became a regular choice for his country, by which time he was a Hull City player. He was part of the Ireland squad that competed in the Euro 2016 finals hosted by France but did not make it off the bench in four matches. He won last of his 26 Ireland caps in September 2018 against Poland, 22 of which were won as a Hull City player.
Details
Nationality: Ireland
Date/Place of Birth: 29 May 1989, Cork (Ireland)
Hull City First Game: 10 November 2012, Cardiff City A (Championship), 23 years, 165 days old
Hull City Final Game: 28 April 2018, Cardiff City H (Championship), 28 years, 334 days old
Clubs
Cork City (2008), Sunderland (2008-2013), Hull City (2012-2013, loan), Hull City (2013-2018), Reading (2018-2019), Coventry City (2019, loan)
Hull City Record
Career: 191 apps, 19 goals
David Meyler| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012/13 | 25 (3) | 5 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2013/14 | 27 (3) | 2 | 6 (1) | 2 | 3 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 2014/15 | 19 (9) | 1 | – | – | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 (0) | 0 | – | – |
| 2015/16 | 20 (6) | 2 | 3 (0) | 0 | 3 (1) | 1 | – | – | 0 (2) | 0 |
| 2016/17 | 9 (11) | 1 | 2 (0) | 0 | 5 (1) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 2017/18 | 17 (8) | 5 | 1 (1) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
MEYLER: A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
On 27 April this year with the 2017/18 season drawing to a close, Peter Johnson, Editor of Hull City social media group Tigerlink reviewed David Meyler’s time in East Yorkshire, one of the few players from the Bruce era who was still part of the set up at the KCOM at the time.
Sadly the end of season atmosphere was flat and felt more like a relegation, and once again a true Hull City hero has been allowed to leave without proper recognition and a total lack of warmth and appreciation from the Club. No wonder players are leaving our Club in droves! No wonder Michael Dawson drove to Nottingham in a bid to escape.
The Allams are destroying everything that is good about our football club. Thousands will return and the reputation of the club will be restored when they go. For the moment fans are trapped within the horror story of their reluctant ownership but we must show our resolve and prepare for the day when the rebuilding begins and when all those connected with Hull City, owners, coach, manager, players and fans are all pulling in the same direction and the club is returned to the community it was formed to represent.
DAVID MEYLER: A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
If David Meyler departs Hull City at the end of this season then he takes with him countless memories of a glorious career with the men in black and amber.
Whilst he often divides opinion amongst City fans, he was a fundamental part of the Steve Bruce era and made a huge contribution to our flirtation with football’s big time. Two promotions to the Premier League including a Wembley Play Off Final in 2016, the 2014 Wembley FA Cup Semi Final and Final and a brief taste of European football. And of course he scored at Wembley in the Semi Final. All at a time when his international career with the Republic of Ireland also blossomed to the point where he took over the captaincy. He did okay I reckon.
Whilst not renowned as a goalscorer, some of his goals will live long in the memory of Hull City fans and will always be a big part of of a colourful and unprecedented period in our history. It’s arguably not the strongest part of his game but he scored some crucial goals during his time with us and seemed a player inspired by the big occasion.
We like a trier in Hull. Meyler is a scrapper. His midfield role is rarely a glamorous one, chasing, tackling, closing down, organising and distributing, looking to win possession and build attacks. Rather like Ian Ashbee in Phil Brown’s Hull City side, Meyler’s attributes were not always clearly visible to some fans but he has been a superb team man and would be much missed. If he leaves he will be the last of Bruce’s sizeable Irish contingent to do so and along with the likes of Brady, Quinn and the legendary McShane, this popular group of lads from the Emerald Isle will always be fondly remembered by City fans.
David arrived at Hull City on loan from Sunderland in November 2012. He scored his first goal away at Watford later that month and was signed by Steve Bruce early in 2013. His five years at the KCOM have been eventful and largely very successful, yet he probably first achieved national fame following his infamous touchline skirmish with Alan Pardew when the Newcastle manager headbutted Meyler during the game at the KCOM on 1 March 2014.
Whilst he has been a consistent performer, for many Hull City fans the 2013/14 season will rank as Meyler’s finest spell. His first Premier League goal came in the historic first PL win over Liverpool in December 2013, but my personal favourite Meyler memory came just a few days after the Pardew incident when he scored a vital and memorable goal in the FA Cup Quarter Final win at home to Sunderland, running to the corner flag after he scored to head butt it and mock the incident with the Newcastle boss. A great moment in a wonderful win for Hull City which was the starter for two trips to Wembley Stadium in just a few weeks for the Tiger Nation.
David Meyler is only 28 and has a lot to offer any football club. He is a seasoned professional and proven performer at both Premier League and Championship level with a wealth of experience for both club and country. He should of course be given a new contract but given the current state of our football club, it may not happen. Like so many before him he has applied himself admirably even in the Ehab induced ‘post Bruce fallout’ he has stuck it out and given his all. But whatever is said publicly the crazy antics of the dreadful Allams must have been tough to work with over the last few years and Meyler may long for a move to a happier and more settled environment. Who can blame him. He probably deserves a testimonial for surviving the Allam era this long.
A final point to mention is that David Meyler has been one of the first Hull City players to become well known for his social media presence. His Twitter account remains active, interesting and informative and during one of the recent ‘silences of the Allams’ he arguably became Hull City’s most effective communication outlet, providing a useful insight at a time when the gulf between owners and fans was widening fast. Yet his tweets remain sensible and professional, with a touch of Irish humour often included.
So when you think about the greatest Hull City players of all time you might not straight away think of David Meyler but if you draw up a list of Hull City all time favourites and greats then ask yourself this, did they;
captain Hull City?
captain their country?
score in a Hull City Premier League win over Liverpool?
play and score in a Wembley FA Cup Semi Final for Hull City?
play in a Wembley FA Cup Final for Hull City?
have 3 seasons and 70 appearances for Hull City in the Premier League?
play in Europe with Hull City?
David Meyler did.
So will he stay or will he go? I’d like to see him stay. Either way I’d like to thank him for everything he’s done at our football club. A great professional on and off the pitch, all the best for the future and let’s hope you play many more games for the Republic of Ireland and inspire them to more success.
Without doubt David Meyler, you’ve done Cork proud.
(This article also features in FanaticHull City fanzine issue 35)
tigerlink.co.uk